At present, a Next Generation Network (NGN), which applies an Internet Protocol (IP) packet technology as its bearer network technology and integrates fixed communication and mobile communication, is able to provide rich multimedia services, e.g. emerging services (IP television (IPTV), video conference, multimedia distance education, and Video on Demand (VOD) etc.) with real-time requirement. These services require the capability of a communication network to support efficient end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS). An NGN framework solves QoS problems by the following mechanisms.
FIG. 1 shows a framework announced by an International Telecommunication Union (ITU). A Policy Decision Function Entity (PD-FE) makes an initial QoS resource decision based on media stream session information (acquired from a Service Control Function (SCF) entity) and user transport resource subscription information (acquired from a Network Attachment Control Function (NACF) entity), interacts with a Transport Resource Control Function Entity (TRC-FE) subsequently to confirm whether there are sufficient QoS resources, makes a final decision eventually, and delivers the final decision to a Policy Execute Function Entity (PE-FE) which executes the final decision.
The TRC-FE, which is mainly responsible for controlling resources, monitors resources in a network, acquires related information and responds according to specific resource conditions when the PD-FE requests a resource.
The PE-FE is mainly configured to, with the guidance of the PD-FE, perform strategy control (gating control, bandwidth, traffic classification and labelling, traffic shaping, two-layer and three-layer QoS mapping, acquisition and reporting of resource usage information etc.).
According to a current Transport Resource Execute Function Entity (TRE-FE) protocol description, a transport technology-related two-layer strategy is executed with the guidance of the TRC-FE, but the specific functions and scope are undetermined.
A Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) module, which is provided with capabilities comprising user identification, service identification, QoS marker identification, and content identification etc., is able to realize flow management and strategy management based on user terminal identifier information and information comprising IP addresses and service types etc.
Currently, during the NGN applications, a resource and admission control sub-system is responsible for resource reservation and admission control of resource-reservation type services in the NGN, while best-effort services (non-resource-reservation type services) are not managed by the RAC sub-system. Therefore, non-resource-reservation type services cannot be admission-controlled in the current NGN framework.